Clinicaltrials Search Studies
clinicaltrials_search_studiesRead-onlyIdempotent
Search for clinical trials from ClinicalTrials.gov using free text, condition, intervention, location, or advanced filters with pagination and field selection.
Instructions
Search for clinical trial studies from ClinicalTrials.gov. Supports full-text and field-specific queries, status/phase/geographic filters, pagination, sorting, and field selection. Use the fields parameter to reduce payload size — full study records are ~70KB each.
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| query | No | General free-text search across all fields. Plain words plus AND, OR, NOT only — reserved chars `[ ] ( ) ,` will fail. For field-scoped searches, use the dedicated *Query parameters (conditionQuery, interventionQuery, etc.) or advancedFilter with AREA[FieldName]value. | |
| conditionQuery | No | Condition/disease-specific search. E.g., "Type 2 Diabetes", "non-small cell lung cancer". Plain words plus AND/OR/NOT only — reserved chars: [ ] ( ) , | |
| interventionQuery | No | Intervention/treatment search. E.g., "pembrolizumab", "cognitive behavioral therapy". Plain words plus AND/OR/NOT only — reserved chars: [ ] ( ) , | |
| locationQuery | No | Location search — city, state, country, or facility name. Plain words plus AND/OR/NOT only — reserved chars: [ ] ( ) , | |
| sponsorQuery | No | Sponsor/collaborator name search. Plain words plus AND/OR/NOT only — reserved chars: [ ] ( ) , | |
| titleQuery | No | Search within study titles and acronyms only. Plain words plus AND/OR/NOT only — reserved chars: [ ] ( ) , | |
| outcomeQuery | No | Search within outcome measure fields. Plain words plus AND/OR/NOT only — reserved chars: [ ] ( ) , | |
| statusFilter | No | Filter by study status. Values: RECRUITING, COMPLETED, ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING, NOT_YET_RECRUITING, ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION, SUSPENDED, TERMINATED, WITHDRAWN, UNKNOWN, WITHHELD, NO_LONGER_AVAILABLE, AVAILABLE, APPROVED_FOR_MARKETING, TEMPORARILY_NOT_AVAILABLE. | |
| phaseFilter | No | Filter by trial phase. Values: EARLY_PHASE1, PHASE1, PHASE2, PHASE3, PHASE4, NA. | |
| advancedFilter | No | Advanced filter using AREA[FieldName]value syntax. Examples: "AREA[StudyType]INTERVENTIONAL", "AREA[EnrollmentCount]RANGE[100, 1000]", "AREA[Phase]PHASE2 AND AREA[StudyType]INTERVENTIONAL", "(AREA[Phase]PHASE3 OR AREA[Phase]PHASE4) AND AREA[StudyType]INTERVENTIONAL". AND/OR/NOT join complete AREA[FieldName]value expressions; parentheses group them. Call clinicaltrials_get_field_definitions to find AREA[]-compatible field names. | |
| geoFilter | No | Geographic proximity filter. Format: distance(lat,lon,radius). E.g., "distance(47.6062,-122.3321,50mi)" for studies within 50 miles of Seattle. | |
| nctIds | No | Filter to specific NCT IDs for batch lookups. | |
| fields | No | PascalCase leaf names to return; strongly recommended since full records are ~70KB. Common leaves: NCTId, BriefTitle, BriefSummary, OverallStatus, Phase, LeadSponsorName, Condition. Call clinicaltrials_get_field_definitions with a concept query (e.g., "adverse events", "eligibility") to find the exact leaf for any concept. | |
| sort | No | Sort order. Format: FieldName:asc or FieldName:desc. E.g., "LastUpdatePostDate:desc", "EnrollmentCount:desc". Max 2 fields comma-separated. Use clinicaltrials_get_field_definitions to find sortable field names. | |
| pageSize | No | Results per page, 1–200. | |
| pageToken | No | Pagination cursor from a previous response. | |
| countTotal | No | Include total study count in response. Only computed on the first page. | |
| includeUnknownEnrollment | No | Include studies whose EnrollmentCount is the upstream "unknown" sentinel (99999999). Excluded by default — the sentinel pollutes RANGE[N, MAX] queries and EnrollmentCount:desc sorts. Set true for data-quality audits or when targeting unknown-enrollment studies specifically. |
Output Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| studies | Yes | Matching studies. Each entry is a nested ClinicalTrials.gov study record — top-level keys: protocolSection, derivedSection, hasResults, resultsSection, documentSection. Use clinicaltrials_get_field_definitions to explore the schema. | |
| totalCount | No | Total matching studies (first page only when countTotal=true). | |
| nextPageToken | No | Token for the next page. Absent on last page. | |
| searchCriteria | No | Echo of query/filter criteria used. Present when results are empty. | |
| requestedFields | No | Echo of the explicit fields parameter — present only when the caller passed fields. Lifts the default truncation cap so all requested leaves render in full. | |
| noMatchHints | No | Suggestions for broadening the search when no results are found. |